Despite the former head coach's concerns regarding the viability of the quintet in the Tottenham set up, technical director Franco Baldini and Daniel Levy sanctioned the moves that collectively cost the club over £56m in transfer fees, the Daily Mail report.

In addition to Etienne Capoue, Roberto Soldado and Paulinho, the now jobless Villas-Boas wanted the club to bring Joao Moutinho, David Villa and Hulk to White Hart Lane. However the club opted to avoid these players, leaving the Portuguese coach to work with what he was given.

Joao Moutinho, who Villas-Boas worked with closely during their time at Porto together, was seemingly on the brink of moving to north London in August 2012, but the move fell through just before the closure of the transfer window.

Spurs were expected to launch another bid for the instrumental midfielder this summer, but were beaten to the punch by a Monaco side looking to build a squad capable of challenging for the Ligue 1 title, signing Moutinho for a reported fee of £22m.

Hulk was another to be continuously linked with a reunion with his former manager at Tottenham having reportedly grown unsettled at Zenit St Petersburg following his £40m move to the Russian giants in 2012.

And Villas-Boas was also keen to sign David Villa after it became clear his time at Barcelona was drawing to a close. Arsenal were also in contention to sign Spain's all-time leading goal scorer, but the striker eventually signed for Atletico Madrid in a deal widely regarded as one of the bargains of the summer.

Of the four reportedly unwanted signings, Lamela's arrival at White Hart Lane raised the most eyebrows. The Argentine was signed for a record fee of £30m from Roma – the club where Franco Baldini held a similar position before moving to London.

Having been earmarked as the man selected to fill the void left by Gareth Bale, 21-year-old Lamela has struggled in English football thus far, starting just one Premier League game in a 6-0 loss to Manchester City.